Shoplifting has become prominent around town as is evidenced in the RCMP reports every week. It is a very serious matter, which can have repercussions for not only the thief if they're caught, but for business owners and members of a community in general.
Steve Shultz, one of the owners of Pharmasave, explained that when shoplifting occurs they are out the money of the product. This means that this deficit created by an individual in the community who steals an item will result in an increase of prices to alleviate the loss in the store.
Shoplifting is a colloquialism for theft from a store, which has seen a slight rise in happenings around town. The general consensus when speaking with business owners, however, is that their staff is more vigilant and better acquainted with signs that someone is shoplifting. Many businesses have also invested in security systems including surveillance cameras, which allow them to keep track of people in their store more closely.
"We've seen an increase because the staff is more intelligent about it and more observant of it. We have a lot of seasoned staff knowing what to look for and have successfully caught a number of people," Derrick Edwards, a manager with Co-op explained.
The Co-op typically sees thefts including Listerine and hairspray, which are associated with people who have substance abuse issues. While the other most commonly stolen product is meat and cheese.
When asked why this is Edwards stated, "They're the most expensive products we have." This was in conjunction with the fact they are typically in small packages and shoplifters feel they are able to sneak them into their bags.
Pharmasave has also been the target of shoplifters. Most often they find that they are catching youth stealing, though there have been others as well.
Quite often they have found that the youth who are taking items come from hard working families and are surprised by the young person's actions.
"It seems like it's kids, I don't know if it's dares or seeing what they can get away with," Carole-Lyne Dunn, Front Store Manager of Pharmasave, said in attempting to reason why this is.
There was one instance where a young girl had been caught taking items. She was caught and had the items she had attempted to steal taken away. Ten minutes later this same girl is said to have come back to the store in an attempt to try and get these items back through stealing them once again.
The local chemist has taken steps to prevent shoplifting such as having wide aisles, staff that walks the floor counting items, and a surveillance system in place.
"We're a lot more aware of it [shoplifting] now," Shultz stated because they have these preventative measures now in place.
People still find ways to steal, however, which has included a woman from Moosomin who is currently awaiting court proceedings. This particular case saw theft of baby items from both King's Department Store and Pharmasave.
The woman, whom had been helped with a bridal party not long before at King's, stole an abundance of baby related items. It was busy in the store at the time and staff knew something was happening, but not exactly what as it was difficult to assist others in the store at this time.
Shortly after the woman left, the store became less busy and staff reviewed their surveillance tapes to see what had actually happened. It showed the woman attempting to avoid cameras, while ultimately showing her shoplifting a number of items.
A staff member identified a vehicle which belonged to the woman and thought they would take a moment to see if it was still in town. The staff member found it parked near Pharmasave and decided to inquire with Pharmasave staff if they had seen anyone suspicious. Upon reviewing their surveillance tapes it was discovered the same woman had taken a number of items from here as well.
RCMP were called and charges are being pursued. She will be taken to court for shoplifting.
Ken King, owner of King's Department Store, was surprised by this act since he had helped with her wedding party not long ago; but, has found that anyone is capable of shoplifting. This has included others they know as well.
"We're extremely trusting here and we have been for our 30 years in business," King said. "We'd like to believe people wouldn't take advantage of that, but they do."
"It's amazing what people are doing, people that you know and what they are doing."
One woman was discovered to have taken mukluks from King's recently who has often bought sale items and was at the front of the line for any give-a-ways King's held.
"It was ridiculous watching her on video steal mukluks," King explained.
Reviewing the surveillance tapes of these two particular culprits led to King's staff wondering how often these two had stolen items. The shoplifters were shown on the tapes to be attempting to avoid the direct line of sight of the camera's and had systems for making thefts less obvious.
The staff is very observant, however, and are able to read people's behaviour quite well, which has led to shoplifters being caught.
Though King's has had issues with shoplifters, including people they knew, it was especially shocking to the entire staff, including King, to discover an employee had been shoplifting.
"We were blindsided... by a staff member and it hit us in the guts," King stated. "We thought she was a wonderful person, but we discovered thousands of dollars worth of theft. It's sad is what it is. All of the staff was devastated, so was I, we really enjoyed working with her."
"So, what else is going on?" King questioned, "Who knows."
Possibly related to shoplifting is a large discrepancy within King's inventory, which had been done in January. The physical merchandise was accounted for, but this didn't balance with the books as items were missing. Now King has had to hire someone to discern what happened and where the merchandise went.
Local stores depend on local clientele mainly and local employees. When one person steals, they're not just stealing from a business, a faceless corporation; but, they are taking something from a friend or neighbour. The shoplifter ultimately is affecting the entire community through their actions.
"It's sad, it's really sad what people are doing," King stated.
Theft under $5,000, which shoplifting usually results in, can be designated as either a summary offence or an indictable offence, though the latter is less likely. This can bring with it a fine of up to $2,000 or imprisonment for six months or both. These are the maximum penalties associated with a summary offence designation, while the penalties are more if it is tried as an indictable offence, while theft over $5,000 carries heavier sentences.
Shoplifting is very serious. If charged and criminally convicted the shoplifter will have a criminal record. This means possibly losing future employment opportunities and being barred from traveling to certain countries including the United States.
